The Breeze

[The-Breeze]

So much for putting an AC in right now. With 100 ft extension cords the draw is too much & the compressor won't kick on. I haven't tried a shorter cord yet, my neighbor is going to check to see if he may have one for me to use. I just put it on a table, ass end out the window to test it for now.

 

[cadillackid]

its not the length as much as it is the wire gauge.. you need to get heavier gauge cords t orun an A/C on 100 feet.. they will be PRICEY but you may need 12 or 10 gauge cords depending on how much your A/C pulls... 100 feet of wire is 100 feet of wire whether its the real distance or just the wire in a pile on the ground... voltage drop is real..
-Christopher

 

[somewhereinusa]

Harbor Freight has some nice10 gauge 100 and 50 gauge cords cords at a reasonable price.

 

[The-Breeze]

I'll need to check them out. I'm pretty close to getting my electric run throughout. Funny story, I had a man stop by to inquire if I was going to sell the black truck out in the yard. The black truck happens to be "Black Jack", Clints 87 Chevy Silverado 4X4 all original that's been sitting in the same spot for about 9 years. Long story about why but not now. I told him that yes, he was thinking on it, told him the bottom line and jokingly thru in "and if you know of anyone that can help me get electricity put in the bus that would be great".

Seems he had just finished converting & putting in electric on a toy hauler he has. He bought the truck & had to come back a couple days in a row trying to get it running & the last trip he did a walk thru with me of the bus & said he'll put together a list of what I need & a ball park figure to go by as I told him I would like to check the web first before just buying everything as HD.

Clint & I had always planned to have the wall plugs just down from the sills with the wires running in a groove cut out of the foam. Jimmy talked of other ways to accomplish what we wanted but with less work. I even mentioned the possibility of hooking the genny in line (which if I was to do this on my own I would have just sold it and moved on).

Seems the Universe figures that I passed all the other shitty test its thrown at me
& has decided to give me a break. Thank You!

Fingers crossed XX here.

 

[The-Breeze]

composting toilet

I currently have a Jabsco waterless toilet installed but haven't bought my black tank yet. I have always wondered why I couldn't put in the composting toilet I have down back in the cabin.

I didn't persue this as Clint was adamant about "it not going in the bus".

I am now back to wondering. I have a Sun-Mar Centrex 2000 NE that's been set up & not used for the past 9 years. the link shows Central Composting Toilets by Sun-Mar

I was thinking I may have more than enough room under the bus for the composting unit and was wondering if anyone has anything to offer up on this idea.

 

[Stu & Filo. T]

its not the length as much as it is the wire gauge.. you need to get heavier gauge cords t orun an A/C on 100 feet.. they will be PRICEY but you may need 12 or 10 gauge cords depending on how much your A/C pulls... 100 feet of wire is 100 feet of wire whether its the real distance or just the wire in a pile on the ground... voltage drop is real..
-Christopher

This reminds me of the time I bought my house 8 yrs ago, I parked my Class C in the front yard to sleep in while I worked on the house it was in the 100deg so I had a 100ft cord on a reel I was using to plug in the RV & run the AC full blast all day, so as I was walking outside I heard the AC surging & thought to myself , Why is it doing that? I walked into the garage & there was my cord reel melting into a pile of glob.

 

[The-Breeze]

AC & extensions cords

I'd of **** my pants if that had happened. I made sure that I kept feeling the cord plugged into the AC & the other end plugged into the wall. When the plug started feeling hot I unplugged it. That's when I figured the extension cord wasn't heavy enough.

 

[The-Breeze]

I was at HD today getting some electrical stuff for my wiring & I walked by the extension cords. YIPEEES, Over $100+ for a 100 ft 10 gauge cord.

 

[The-Breeze]

Electrical layout help welcomed

This is going to be my Gospel according to Sharlene as to what will be where. I wasn't going to get into this but talking with a friend on my homepage I did this up. My questions is in regards to the Drivers side. How many runs would I run & what can I connect to each one. I have a 6 breaker load center so breakers are not an issue. I only have 2 requests, 1 my laptop cannot connect with fridge or freezer due to cycling of the motors in regards to EMI interference & I do not want to play the "if I plug this in will I have to shut off something else in the galley" so I don't trip a breaker. I'm open to any & all discussions on this.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1....=33f452ad7ee40174abf218bfc1c84815&oe=58320C2A

 

[milkmania]

I was at HD today getting some electrical stuff for my wiring & I walked by the extension cords. YIPEEES, Over $100+ for a 100 ft 10 gauge cord.

I'd call that an "investment"... Chances are you wouldn't need to replace it for many years! So, divide years of use by $100 and it's cheaper than continually buying cheap cords every 6months or each year.

Kinda why I prefer Michelin tires for my primary vehicle... Sure, initial expense hits the wallet hard! But, when they last 5 years, they're cheaper than yearly tires.

 

[The-Breeze]

30A or 50A service???? which should I install?

I am getting close to installing my Breaker Box & a question came up today as to whether I would be running 30A or 50A. I am unsure. I feel that I could get by with 30A but I have been reading that more & more CG's are putting in 50A shore power.

It is my understanding that I can pigtail down from a 50A to a 30A with no problem but not vice versa. Is that correct?

I have no problem installing 50A service if the cost is not much more or deemed better. I just need some feedback on this please.

I also have a few lines that I labeled with various color tape to identify each circuit. Unfortunately I did not write down what was what & I have already forgotten what goes where. My thought as I am doing this alone is to pick up a male receptacle to attach to each line to identify the circuit. Does anyone have a better idea to get this done?

 

[M1031A1]

I am getting close to installing my Breaker Box & a question came up today as to whether I would be running 30A or 50A. I am unsure. I feel that I could get by with 30A but I have been reading that more & more CG's are putting in 50A shore power.

It is my understanding that I can pigtail down from a 50A to a 30A with no problem but not vice versa. Is that correct?

I have no problem installing 50A service if the cost is not much more or deemed better. I just need some feedback on this please.

I also have a few lines that I labeled with various color tape to identify each circuit. Unfortunately I did not write down what was what & I have already forgotten what goes where. My thought as I am doing this alone is to pick up a male receptacle to attach to each line to identify the circuit. Does anyone have a better idea to get this done?

I'm going 60A service due to the fact we have a full-sized dryer we're installing. I'm not playing around. If you use 50, you have a reserve of amps you can fall back on (unless you plan on installing a full-sized dryer like we are). However, if you install a 30 amp you are handcuffed to it without the benefit of being able to utilize an additional 20 amps. Personally, I like more options instead of fewer.......

In addition, go back and figure out how many amps you will draw IF you use ALL your electrical demands at the same time (it could happen in rare instances such as the frig. and A/C kick on at the same moment, et. al.)

Just my two cents........

 

[somewhereinusa]

Where are you going to get 60 amps, I've never heard of any campground that offered more than 50. Unless you are just going to sit on your own lot.

 

[M1031A1]

Where are you going to get 60 amps, I've never heard of any campground that offered more than 50. Unless you are just going to sit on your own lot.

We have a lot reserved for us....... and it's ALOT!!!!

 

[family wagon]

I heard a comment from a friend just a few days ago about campgrounds being built offering only 50 amp service. I have my doubts... there's so much inventory of camper units on the road with 15/20/30 amp cords that it seems unlikely that a campsite would be built offering only 50 (ie, omitting the 30 and 15/20 sockets). It'd be a lousy experience for campers who are accustomed to finding 15/20/30 connections literally everywhere to find themselves "up a creek without a dogbone adapter" in that campground!

Even if such became common, dogbone adapters for 50A male to 30A female are available. It isn't the greatest solution because it creates a situation where a 50 A breaker is "protecting" connectors and wiring intended for just 30 A. It's probably not likely to cause a catastrophe, though.

Dogbone adapters going the other way (50 A female to 30 A male) are also available so the 30-vs-50 choice doesn't have to be made on availability of adapters.

Maybe consider these factors:

• are you often/ever going to want more than 30 A because you want a lot of air conditioning, water/space heating, or cooking? Then build for 50 A.
• are you going to travel much? The 30 A plug is probably more common.
• do you anticipate any trouble with moving heavy things? The 50 A cable is more bulky and heavier. Its insertion and removal force is higher, too.

The 60 A thing is interesting. A little puzzling. I've only ever seen home clothes dryer circuits with 30 A breakers, and the one time I measured my clothes dryer its actual draw was around 23 A. Unless one does a great deal of clothes-drying, I'd think a 50 A hookup would leave comfortable headroom (for myself, anyway.. of course others are welcome to have different comfort levels!). Another problem with the 60 A service is that it really shouldn't be built with a 50 A rated plug. There is a plug for that but it'll be unlikely to find a match for it anywhere but at the purpose-built site. It'll be necessary to home-build a dogbone adapter and use it with every hookup when on the road.

 

[The-Breeze]

Part #'s needed for electrical....please

Hey, Electrical in the Old Girl is about done. I need help with purchasing & ordering the right parts to finish it out:

Can anyone give me the part # for the adapter that will be on the side of bus that my shore power is plugged into.

Also, what size hole saw blade I will need to cut out the opening.

And which pigtails I will need to handle the various situations I will encounter when hooking up at a campground.

If anyone knows where the best deals are for these products I sure could use that information too.

Thanks

 

[The-Breeze]

It's been awhile since I've posted on this site around my electrical issues. I have cut my hole (it required a 2 7/8" hole saw) & I was limited to a 2 1/2" without having to go buy one. So I had to file out the difference. I ran my line through the floor & out to avoid having to go through the double skin & insulation. First attempt wasn't quite what I was looking for. After careful (evidently not) measurements I ended up drilling a hole thru the floor into one of the cross members underneath. Squarely in the middle of it, no damage at all just a hole perfectly centered. Sure hope there isn't any deadly critters living in it. No wonder I couldn't see light thru the hole. Moving over a couple in inches I was in business. I still need to cover up the first hole in the floor.

I've been plugged in now for a few weeks & so far all is well. As I am in a temporary location I have had to run an adapter down to 20A & plug into one of the house plugs. This is limiting my capabilities. I currently have my 4 cu ft fridge running .4A running power, a coffee maker, my Bose system OR a small TV with Roku or DVD. Not all at once, music while I'm up & TV when I go lay down. I also keep my laptop & hotspot charging at all times. I bought LED light bulbs for the two lights I have plugged in. I couldn't find 25W so I bought 40W. Since then I have one 25W & one 40W. Plenty of light for me. Wow, when I list all I am running at the moment it sure does seem like I'm already overdoing it.

I used my NuWave PIC on board the other day & before I even plugged it in & turned it on I shut the circuit to the fridge for the duration. Maybe a 15A circuit could handle all of that but I don't see any need currently to try.

I got the two trees that are blocking my way to moving the bus down back cut down yesterday. Now I need to find someone to come haul off the trees for firewood. I offered them up for free on FreeCycle.org so I'm gonna have to wait & see if I get any takers. If not, I'll just need to cut them slightly shorter for a bobcat to chunk them over the banking. I hope it doesn't come to that as they two nicely sized white oaks.

I bought me a Mr Heater Big Buddy as I don't want to deal with anything larger than 20# tanks & I bought a 50ft 10/3 extension cord that is plugged into where the washing machine was, I unplugged it & plugged in the ext cord for running an infared heater for times I'm not running the propane.

All in all I'm doing the best I can to stay comfortable out here without burning the house & bus down.

 

[The-Breeze]

Things going well. Finally got the two trees cut down that are blocking access to where the bus will park till I finish up the rest of what needs to be done around here.

I opted to not have them haul away the trees, first because it would have cost more, though I didn't ask how much & secondly, I figured that there are plenty of people that would love to get free firewood. I was thinking I may have thought wrong.

I placed ads in 8 different Yard Sale site on FB & on FreeCycle.org. Free, come & get it. I had one person in a week inquire. He showed up on Thursday & said yes he would be back Saturday to get it. Never did show up & never did PM me that there was an issue. Was I wrong in my thinking? I'm starting to wonder.

So, I'm back to square one for a different reason.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Things going well. Finally got the two trees cut down that are blocking access to where the bus will park till I finish up the rest of what needs to be done around here.

I opted to not have them haul away the trees, first because it would have cost more, though I didn't ask how much & secondly, I figured that there are plenty of people that would love to get free firewood. I was thinking I may have thought wrong.

I placed ads in 8 different Yard Sale site on FB & on FreeCycle.org. Free, come & get it. I had one person in a week inquire. He showed up on Thursday & said yes he would be back Saturday to get it. Never did show up & never did PM me that there was an issue. Was I wrong in my thinking? I'm starting to wonder.

So, I'm back to square one for a different reason.

At least in my area where firewood is worthless, most of the CL ads like that go completely unnoticed. Around here you have to PAY to get rid of it.
Or just make a giant fire pile like I do! :marshmallow:

 

[The-Breeze]

I may have misunderstood as they showed up today with no mention of yesterday. They have been down there cutting, but seem to have a slight adjustment or two they need to make to the chainsaw. When asked if I had any tools, I was more than happy to lend them what they needed.